Sir Alex Ferguson offered Man United star £100,000 to retire to change culture at club

Sir Alex Ferguson offered two Manchester United players £100,000 to retire from football in order to tackle the drinking culture at the club.

Paul McGrath made 199 appearances for The Reds across a seven-year spell but detailed the discussions he had with the boss, who wanted him to return to Ireland and leave Old Trafford.

Sir Alex Ferguson was looking to end the drinking culture at the club and in the league at the time. His decision ultimately paid off in the best possible way as his United side slowly turned into the best in the country to win their first title in 26 years in 1993. And they went on to win a few more.

“Sir Alex got me into the room and just said ‘we’d like you to stop playing football’,” McGrath told the Telegraph. “Simple as that. And he said they were willing to give me £100,000 to quit playing football altogether and just go back to Ireland.

“I was thinking about it because £100,000 back then was quite a lot of money. But I spoke to [team-mates] Kevin Moran and Bryan Robson, and I just said I wanted to play on because I thought I could still do something in football.

“So Gordon Taylor, who was at the PFA, went into Sir Alex and said ‘Paul’s playing on, you can fine him, you can do what you want but he’s going to play football – here or somewhere else’.”

Shortly afterwards, McGrath moved away from United but stayed in England’s top flight. Following a conversation over the phone with Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor, the defender moved to the midlands to join his side.

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Despite continuing to enjoy his drink, the Irishman arguably enjoyed some of the best years of his career with The Villans, coming runners-up to the title twice during his seven-year spell with the club as well as winning the PFA Player of the Year award in the 1992/93 campaign, as United won the inaugural Premier League title.

“I jumped at the chance,” McGrath added. “I thought ‘Jesus, I can play there every week’.”